well I disagree somewhere along the line. I think the more specific a song is as to place and time, the more it can be universal.

My name is Peter Amberly...in 1880 when flowers were a brilliant hue..I landed in New Brunswick my fortune to pursue.

He could have said I landed in a rocky forest and left it at that..he could not have said the date. He could not have said his name. But he did and so other people can really get a grip on where he was and can I think relate their own experiences more easily...I had a cruel father, I left the farm, I had to work harder than was healthy..some pretty universal problems there but specific situations...getting hit by a great timber... mg